Dear Parish Family: It’s hard to believe that we are in mid-August! How did that happen? Why do the summer months fly by and the winter months seem to drag on when they are the same amount of time? As we approach the end of August, we set our sights on the fall and all its events and activities. Last week, I talked about how precious our community is. Today, I would like to talk about how community and faith formation go hand in hand. Participating in community is the single most important piece of a faith formation. The term “faith formation” is sometimes used as a synonym for religious education classes, Sunday school or CCD. Education is an important part of forming the faith, as we need to know something about God’s story, His love and how God wants us to act and treat others. Building community and forming faith happens through relationships. Ultimately these relationships reflect our relationship with God and nurturing and forming that relationship is the point of faith formation. Forming faith and sustaining community takes time. It takes time to form and nurture relationships and to form faith habits. It requires a committed effort to be in that vulnerable relationship and to engage in faith practices. To quote Woody Allen, “80% of success is showing up.” Besides participation, to sustain community, there must be ministry leaders that get things moving and guide things along. The old adage, “It takes a Village” applies to nurturing and sustaining community. Each year, we rely on the generosity of volunteers to be successful. We have opportunities for people of all ages in both faith formation and parish ministries. If you have a gift to share, please contact the office. Pam Chaplin